tbavprof...you are right in many ways but as to your question regarding as to why i am a self funded cadet is simply because i wanted to try MPL instead of a CPL...period (No matter what the cost). I did not wake up one day and decide that i wanted to be an airline pilot. Nor did i come to clark aviation because of any agent!
I was bitten by the aviation bug right since i was a kid but my parents never had the financial ability or willingness to send their only child into what they deemed as a dangerous job
. (Mom, Dad..I love you
) BUt they did let me do whatever it took to keep my interest alive. The only way i could keep in touch with the field was to hang around airfields, airports and get whatever information i could. I also borrowed/bought reading material right from coffee table books to Operation manuals, FCOMs from friends/well wishers. After 2 years in Army reserve, I made it to the Indian Air Force selections but because i had an Engineering Degree I could not make it to the flying cadre as that was reserved for cadets without a degree
and for those who joined the selection process before they started college...age limits etc etc.
To cut a long story short...i had to work to pay for my flying lessons and i first came acorss MPL in 2004 (YES repeat 2004) That was the time i belonged to/moderated a pretty big Aviation internet community back in India.
I have a lot of friends who in 2004 started their CPL training and most of them are now flying for Indian Carriers. You have to understand that GenAV is almost non existant in India. Unlike here in the Philippines, India is well connected by Roads and Railways ...eliminating Gen Av flying...and if it ever existed it was for the ultra rich.
So..back in India airlines were recruiting fresh CPL holders with as little as 250 hrs of flying and a minimum 25 hrs of Multi time. (of which 10 can be in any approved sim). None of my friends who joined Indian Carriers have more than 300 hrs at the time of joining. (except one who extensively flew Gen Av in the US) Most of them had a tough time during the type rating. That is when MPL came up. Purely from an Indian perspective and operating conditions...MPL seemed a better way to train for an airline...considering the fact that the aircrafts in question were A320 and B737NG and not the earlier generation types like DC9, MD 80, B727-200Adv or B737-200 etc. The pilot of a current generation aircraft is more of a manager than a pilot used to flying a C172. The Cessna is such an honest aircraft you want to lose altitude fast ...just chop power and pitch down slightly....can i do the same on an A320?
Feb 14th 1990 an A320 crashed in Bangalore killing 92 people. Both the pilots were captains with more than 30000 hrs put together. Only one hitch...almost all that time was on the B737-200 which was the earlier type operated by Indian Airlines. (actually that was the first time i ever saw an A320...still remember that day!) It was blamed on improper training of the pilots...but its also a well known human factor that you usually regress to your old way of flying. Many of my friends had trouble in the SIM sessions coz they could not get out of the mindset of single eng flying. leave alone jets..MCC...hahaha that was a big joke. It is as if that one has to "unlearn" most of the flying techniques when learning a new type.
By the way i dont know who started this disinformation campaign that an MPL holder can never be PIC! ofcourse when the 1500 hr comes we too are eligible for the ATP LIKE ANY OTHER CPL HOLDER! Dont take my word! Get it checked with ICAO! (i did it...as is said i did not just wake up one day to any ad for the MPL
) What we are not eligible to do is ...ummm take your GF or Wife or friends around in a C172 for a joyride. Now that is a personal choice. If i wanted GEnAV trust me i would have done a CPL. (Actually there is nothing stopping me from doing a CPL even after i get my MPL
)
Now Why Clark Aviation? Well well well...i never even dreamed of the fact that i would end up doing MPL! the very thing that i had been tracking fora long long time. After a lot of debates/information exchange with seasoned pilots and well known aviators back in India...i decided to join Calrk Av. Why? Coz both Alteon and CAP (Denmark) were not taking in any self sponsored cadets. And they were not taking any Indians either.
Now the idea was that we eventually go to work with Indian Carriers...but unfortunately the DGCA (whenever someone says ATO is so slow....pls come to DGCA India...ATO/CAAP seems so fast! DO you know that one can appear for the CPL written exams only 4 times a year back in India? For an initial issue of a Class 1 medical examination date i had to wiat for 7 months! Should give you an Idea of how DGCA works)...ok the DGCA of india is dragging its feet on MPL because of reasons which i dont wish to elaborate as it is of no concern to the people reading this thread!
Last but not the least. I earned every penny/paisa of the tution fee that i paid to CA(i did not borrow from the banks or my parents)...so I think as an individual i have every right to invest my money as i deem it fit. I am happy with what is going on right now. I am happy with my training so far except for the fact that i got delayed...but then if everything happened as one wants it to...we can as well be in heaven!
The obvious next question i know people will throw at me is ...so what are you going to do with your license ...you dont have an airline! Now that is an answer which i will not answer now. I will post updates here as and when they happen. Not before
. If at all anyone in CA should be worried it should be ME. But i am just going ahead with my training. Why get stressed with things beyond your control. There are others to take care of it!
Somebody thinks i got ripped off?....time will tell. Till then...safe flt to all. Keep the blue side up.
Cheers...